#Raikirimaru > headcanon

[jardimdeglicinias]

... I think this is gonna be the longest list I that will have to write. PS: It took nearly three hours to do the list and about ten minutes to just go up and down to tag everyone. Yeah, it’s a HUGE list.

Starting with scars:

Ebina-Kokaji has light burn scars along his spine, it’s more noticeable on his lower-back. Caused by the fire damage in 1615 during the summer siege of the Osaka castle.

Himezuru has a deep healed gash on his stomach and lower chest, it looks a bit like the silhouette of Sentoin in the way she was pictured by her husband’s (Nagao Masakage) side. It was caused due to a unfinished shortening attempt around 1546-1550. (I thought that could be a mark instead of scar, but take a look on the blade itself. The hamon is damaged at some points, and some attempts to cut the tang and the lower-section of the blade are pretty much noticeable.)

Raikirimaru (just because I never detailed his scar) has an almost straight-line divided in many branches that goes from just under his nose to his navel and pretty much covers his whole front. More noticeable around the neck and chest. A lightning caused the damage around 1530.

Konotegashiwa has some deep scorched skin around his legs and abdomen, he even limps due to this damage. It happened during the great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the blade lost it’s signature double-sided hamon and is still being slowly repaired.

Jiseinotanzaku has a scar on the back of his neck, it’s a straight line connecting his ears. Happened in 1868 when the tip of the blade got stuck and broke, shortly before his master at time Nakano Takeko being shot and dying afterwards in the battle of Aizu during the Boshin War.

Oborozukiyo has a deep, straight and clean-cut scar on her chest and back, it comes to her left shoulder and ends just bellow her right armpit, the ends are almost connected. It happened in the fourth battle of Kawanakajima in 1561.

Takanosu has large amounts of his body covered in burn scars, some even have some scab-like surface. They are more noticeable on his back, less noticeable on his palms. The War of Pacific in 1941 caused this fire damage to the blade which hasn’t been repaired since then (and probably won’t be repaired, so it preserves the hamon) and was never exposed after the event, some even says that the sword was destroyed.

Ageha has a small cut on the top of his head, it happened when his former form, a tachi, was broken in half during the fourth battle of Kawanakajima in 1561.

Kamaitachi have small dot-like scars on her soles, a small reminder she was made out of a broken blade in 1561.

Not exactly a scar: Monohoshizao has poor hearing on his right ear and complete deafness on his left ear. The blade have small dents on the tang caused during the Kanto Earthquake in 1923 when the shirasaya broke.

Marks:

Ebina-Kokaji have some black spots on his arms and back, it was added to the blade when it was re tempered after the summer siege of the Osaka castle. It’s was added as a “signature” of being a repaired by Echizen Yasutsugu who was known to make swords with this characteristic. Even Ebina’s copies have black spots, the main difference is that most of them have engravings on the sides of the blade.

Naomasa had it’s metal parts made decades before someone engraved “Naomasa” on it (it was added around 1544). It shows with the shape of a Pine branch exactly on her spine, between the shoulder blades.

Ibarakinaibou have a slightly darker skin complexion on her right side of the torso due to having a darker side which, unlike the rest of the weapon, doesn’t have a faint golden glint. Asahina Yataro mentioned that it could be Oni blood, but it’s more likely to be the fact of the weapon being made of different kinds of metal.

Hoshizukiyo have lighter spots on his skin on his entire body, it’s barely noticeable. The blade itself have lighter spots, that’s why it was named “starry night”. 

Yoshimi have both sides of his tang signed: “August of 1566” on one side and “Samonji Yoshimi Masayori Suriage Kore”. It was made by Yoshimi Masayori when he became a retainer of the Mouri clan. (However, the “Sa” part of the signature seems to be older than the rest, so it’s probably his original signature made around 1339) It takes the form of the Omodaka mon used by the Mouri clan, the Nagato Omodaka which was popularized by Mouri Motonari after seeing a dragonfly land on a leaf of  Chinese arrowhead just after a battle. The emblem became widely popular during the campaigns of Sekigahara.

Not exactly a mark: Terutsubame have really shiny hair and gleaming eyes. She was named after being made of polished metal, something uncommon to tessens.

Not exactly a mark: Ageha has two tufts of hair that can’t be straightened on the rest of his hair, making it look like the antennae of a Luna Moth. His name was given on 20th century due to his hamon resembling the wings of a swallowtail butterfly. The closest kind of insect with similar shape is the Luna Moth which the males have really large antennae in comparison to the females.

Tattoos:

Yamatorige/Sanchomo has a very unique hamon which gave these names to the sword, so I can only picture him having a specific tattoo on his chest and back that can be seen as both the feathers of a pheasant or as flames, since both of his names means “pheasant feather” and “a distant mountain in flames”.

Kokindenju Yukihira have the Kokinshu, one of the oldest japanese poems written in japanese (most of them used to be written in chinese before) tattooed on his entire back. It takes from his lower-neck to the middle of his thighs. On the front side of his right thigh it’s possible to see the image of a warrior, possibly Kishin Daiyu’s “demonic” apprentice. This image is part is engraved on the sword.

Machiyakkomono have small and simple butterflies on her belly due to having butterflies sculpted on the metal part of her kiseru form, exactly on the curve meant to parry a sword.

Kiku-Ichimonji Norimune received the “Kiku” part of his name after the sword being finished. It was like a “seal of quality” to the Ichimonji blades, now it takes the form of a yellow chrysanthemum on the left side of his chest.

Kashagiri have a straight sword tattoo on his right arm. It’s a figure engraved on the blade  along with the Sanskrit “kan” character, which is said to represent the Shingon Buddhist deity, Fudo Myo-O, however the “kan” is placed exactly on the back of his right hand. The “kan” can also be spotted on his bracelets and clothing.

Uraku Kunimitsu have a light straight sword tattooed on his left upper arm, this is also part of the sword.

Oborozukiyo have the words “Wind” and “Forest” on her right arm, “Fire” and “Mountain” on her left arm in golden color. Reading it forms “Fuurin Kazan”, which was taken from Sun Tzu’s ideals of fighting that Takeda Shingen was very found of. The words are painted on the back side of the gunbai.

Sensai Fumetsu have her own name on her left arm separated as “Sen - Sai - Fu - Metsu”, a haiku (which I still wasn’t able to translate because of the weird calligraphy used) on her right and a illustration of a forest on her upper chest. Everything in red due to being painted with red lacquer on the front side of the gunsen.

[jardimdeglicinias]

The list isn’t that long, but... That’s a hard one. You know... Having a young master before doesn’t really mean they will be a good parental figure.

Sorted by how much a child/teenager had influence on them:

Uraku Kunimitsu: Toyotomi Hideyori since his coming of age ceremony when he was 8 years old until his suicide at 21. Then to Maeda Toshitsune and Tokugawa Tamahime’s son Maeda Mitsukata from his coming of age ceremony at 13 until his death at 29. Total: 13 years with Hideyori, 16 with Maeda Mitsukata: 29 years.

Raikirimaru: Tachibana Ginchiyo. Given to her after her father’s death when she was 6 years old, as well the head of the Tachibana clan. It remained with her until her death at 34 years old. Total: 28 years.

Naomasa Matsudaira: Matsudaira Hirotada, soon after his father’s death until his divorce with Okichi. Then Tokugawa Ieyasu since the already mentioned divorce until his coming of age ceremony. Total: 9 years with Hirotada, 14 with Ieyasu: 25 years.

Jiseinotanzaku: Nakano Takeko, probably when she first went to Aizu at 13 years old. Remained with her until her death at 21. Total: 8 years.

Ebina-Kokaji: Toyotomi Hideyori from the moment of his birth until his coming of age ceremony and marriage with Senhime. It was assigned to be Toyotomi Kunimatsu’s when he would do his coming of age ceremony, but you all already know that Kunimatsu died when he was seven years old. Total: 8 years.

Note: almost no one of them would be a good parental figure, so below is the list to the ones who are capable of taking the role of a parent (but we all know that the official Sword dad is Kogarasumaru.)

Himezuru. Not Joking. This tachi is a walking kotatsu! He could be called “cuddly mama bear” because of his protective behavior towards the tantous and wakizashis under the Uesugi clan. He actually has some ties with the ones under the Ashikaga clan and Imperial House of Yamato, but since he was simply a unnamed Ichimonji Tachi, his ties with them aren’t that strong. This trait may be related to Kenshin Uesugi who was well-known to be a gentle parental figure to his two adoptive sons. However... Himezuru would probably be the caring mom who punishes misbehavior unfairly.

Naomasa Matsudaira. She is a bit strict, but she knows how to take care of a child just fine. She isn’t clingy as Himezuru, but isn’t strict as Raikirimaru. She tends to scold a bit too much and never straight-out compliment, but when she does some praise, the child sure deserved it.

Hoshizukiyo Masamune. Masamune blades are known to be endowed with Goro Nyudo Masamune’s gentleness, he also got a lot from Takeda Shingen who was know to establish pacts of trust with his retainers. Hoshizukiyo would be a good doting father, but would have problems when punishing the saniwa: he simply wouldn’t be able to.

Raikirimaru. Not exactly a strict parent, but he expects that a child can do the same as Tachibana Ginchiyo. So, he has a pretty high standard. Can be loving almost everytime, but still wants the saniwa to be at least a half what he remembers about Ginchiyo.

Parental Figures, but would need some supervision:

Monohoshizao Nagamitsu. He is used to control violent children. Still isn’t really used to rise one.

Kozuke Kunimitsu: Domestic Father. Yet the only experience he has with a child was with Toyotomi Kunimatsu by cutting his head off.

Tadamasa Hosokawa: It’s used to be surrounded by children, but everyone knows this guy needs supervision to practically anything he does.

Jiseinotanzaku Nagamitsu: Would squeal at minimal cute things. Needs emotional support.

Kanaibou: More like a grandma. She would be one who keeps the child well-fed and also would want the little one to practice some exercises with her. THIS ISN’T A GOOD IDEA.

Bonus: Uraku Kunimitsu would be a great older brother figure due to being very encouraging and to being used to act as the reasonable side of Ebina’s brain. However, children makes him remember about Toyotomi Hideyori. We all know how it ends, right? Let’s say that Uraku would guilty himself over anything bad happening to a child saniwa.

[jardimdeglicinias]

(Deleted the original post because the format didn’t work)

That’s very specific… The list is also specific. And Long.

About the saniwa’s gender:

Well, in the canon all characters addresses to the saniwa using words which can be considered gender-neutral (maybe with the exception of “Nushi-sama” used by Kogitsunemaru because, traditionally, this manner of address is used by a woman towards a man she is intimately familiar with.) which is fitting because the saniwa is the player character. So I really don’t know if they care about it or not, but probably not. I follow this line: the saniwa is their new master in a wartime, so this specific aspect doesn’t matter. I think they’ll be more interested in/worried about the saniwa’s competence than anything else.

But if you are talking about preferences, Jiseinotanzaku is the only one which would react a bit differently (showing more confidence while talking, being a little protective towards them) towards a woman as a saniwa because of his last master Nakano Takeko:

During the Battle of Aizu, she fought with a naginata (a Japanese polearm) and was the leader of an ad hoc corps of female combatants who fought in the battle independently, as the senior Aizu retainers did not allow them to fight as an official part of the domain’s army. This unit was later retroactively called the Joshitai (娘子隊 Girls’s Army).

Spoiler: “women will bring shame to Aizu’s army.” She didn’t took it lightly.

The List:

Listed by how many times they were used and how many years stayed under their former masters who were women, basically they are organized by how much a woman had impact on them:

Raikirimaru - Tachibana Ginchiyo, since she was 6 till her death at 34 years old. Used in every battle she fought at.

Jiseinotanzaku - Nakano Takeko, possibly got in her hands when she was 13, remained with her until her death at 21 years old during the Boshin War.

Uraku Kunimitsu - Asai Oeyo/Oeyo Gozen as a mamorigatana for about seven years, then it was given to Tokugawa Tamahime also as a mamorigatana until she gave it to Maeda Toshitsune when they married.

Konotegashiwa Kanenaga - Wedding gift from Hosokawa Tsunatoshi to Tokugawa Inuhime, the daughter of Tokugawa Yorifusa. Possibly used as a defensive weapon due to being her favorite sword and was used until her death.

Ageha Muramasa - Mochizuki Chiyome, used as a mamorigatana during the Fifth battle of Kawanakajima for around one year. Also Oda O-hime/Kantoin as a wedding gift to her husband Tokugawa Hidetada, less than one year.

Himezuru Ichimonji - Given to Nagao Aya/Aya Gozen before it was given to her son Uesugi Kagekatsu for about seven years. The sword was merely used as a decoration due to being too heavy to be lifted by Aya who was already 54 years old when she received the sword.

Okadagiri Yoshifusa - Oda O-hime/Kantoin for less than one year, also as wedding gift to Tokugawa Hidetada.

Kashagiri Hiromitsu - Takeda Kikuhime, Takeda Katsuyori’s sister, she received this sword to give to Uesugi Kagekatsu when they married.

Not swords, but belonged to women:

Kamaitachi - Mochizuki Chiyome since the aftermath of the Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima until her death.

Naomasa Matsudaira - Haruhime/Aoki Gozen/Aoki Kaga no Kami Norimune, Matsudaira Kiyoyasu’s spouse and Matsudaira Hirotada’s mother. Unused due to being too heavy.

[jardimdeglicinias]

About time, I saw it coming.

Long Post, so Under the Cut.

Kiku Ichimonji Norimune

“She is... So pretty that I want to hug her and never let go! So beautiful and modest like a white chrysanthemum! But... I was not part of the Shinsengumi! Tell me she likes dogs...” He is on point of crying, but it’s impossible to tell if it’s of joy or sadness.

Himezuru Ichimonji

Himezuru has no words. He is simply shaking while almost breaking his fan in half. “Where... Does... This... OBSCENITY SHOW IS A PRINCESS FOR YOU!? Someone give her some decent clothes! I’ll be teaching her how to be a proper princess, starting with her shoes!”

Kokindenju

“Hoo... Finally someone that doesn’t need to read my words to get the true meaning behind them. I thought that I would never say it, but I’m looking froward to meeting this counterpart of mine. Kokin Wakashu, Koi no Uta: A cuckoo, Singing! Summer, sweet flags have opened my eyes to this love.”

Yamatorige Ichimonji

Yamatorige says nothing. He was expecting something similar. Instead he simply walks away.

Raikirimaru

“Oya, oya, she is surprisingly good-looking. I wonder if the lightning just gave her those golden eyes.” Besides his cheerful tone, he isn’t really pleased with this.

Monohoshizao

“... I wonder if Terutsubame would be more comfortable around this version instead of me. I mean, she is shaped like an older sister.”

Konotegashiwa Kanenaga

“... She got the Children’s Palms a bit too literally... I get she is cute, but... I was expecting something different.”

Kitsunegasaki Tametsugu

“Stop. My name was given after a place, not after an animal.”

Okadagiri Yoshifusa

“... I no longer wish to be part of this.”

Hoshizukiyo

“... I had enough, first I got 23/100 in attractiveness, now I got this?! Please, allow me to break myself. I can accept many things, except being dressed up like that. Look at how this kimono is being worn, it’s a disgrace!”

Furiwakegami Hiromitsu

“I’ll be joining Hoshizukiyo-san. She is so tall that I am ashamed of myself. At least her hair is luxuriously beautiful.”

I guess we have a tie! Some liked, some got mixed feelings, some don’t even want to be seen in public for a while.

Bonus!

“... So, this is her name, right? Ufun~! That’s something that I approve!”

Bonus!

“... Takenomata-sama...?”